Charlotte Transit

The Charlotte Area Transit System will launch a wave of service improvements starting next week.Following last year’s vote for the 1-cent local sales tax referendum to fund transit, CATS will roll out the first wave of improvements from its 2055 Transit System Plan next week. That includes the Better Bus Program, aimed at modernizing the bus network through more frequent service, improved reliability, passenger amenities and new routes.

We’re speaking with the three new faces on the Charlotte City Council. All ran on keeping communities safe, expanding affordable housing and improving transportation. Charlotte has been grappling with those issues for years — and now that Joi Mayo, JDMazuera Arias and Kimberly Owens have started their terms, we’ll see how their priorities translate into action.

The Charlotte Area Transit System has released new details about last week’s stabbing on the Blue Line — the second high-profile attack on the light rail since August.

A man is recovering after he was seriously injured in a stabbing during Friday evening rush hour on the Blue Line light rail north of uptown Charlotte, police said. The victim, who was identified in court records as Kenyon Dobie, was in critical but stable condition.

Massive project would push out some residents near uptown; DOT hopes elevated option will lessen impact.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection may be turning their attention to Charlotte soon. With the transit sales tax approved, attention turns to appointing members of the new transit authority. And the trial in the 2019 murder of Scott Brooks in NoDa continues.

Transit advocates pick up a big win, Democrats run the table in local elections, CMPD announces a new chief, and it’s nail-biting time as Charlotte F.C. comes home to take on New York City in the final playoff game of a three-game series.

What did voters say in this off-year election where some key local races and the transit referendum were on the ballot? What will those decisions mean for the area’s future? Republican spending in local races was up. Did it make a difference? We look at the outcome of the election and talk with former North Carolina governor and former Charlotte mayor, Pat McCrory, about a host of issues.

Mecklenburg County voters on Tuesday voted yes on an increase in the sales tax to fund a nearly $20 billion transportation plan that area leaders have spent more than five years working to win approval for.

In 2014, 61% of Mecklenburg voters rejected a plan to increase the sales tax by a quarter of a penny, from 7.25% to 7.5%. Most of the money would have gone to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.